Blazing Skies
by The Forgotten Disciple
Summary: The story of Blaze as he joins the Wardog Squadron and how he works to gain the respect of his squadron members and eventually the respect of the whole world.
1. Chapter 1

**In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. _Jose Narosky_**

**You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. _Leon Trotsky_**

**Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains that victory. _George S. Patton_**

**BLAZING SKIES**

**Skies above Hierlark Air Force Base-1500 hrs**

"Blaze, you are cleared to land."

Second Lieutenant Jack Soul was seated at the controls of his F-SE Tiger II aircraft when the control tower rallied these words to the aircraft's in-flight radio.

"Roger," answered Blaze, "See you guys on the ground."

Blaze slowly eased down the nose of the 15,000 lb aircraft. The icy runway of Hierlark Air Force Base was coming up towards him quickly. Blaze always hated this part of the flight; landing always demanded his full attention, and Jack Soul (as any of his school teachers would tell you) did not enjoy giving anything he hated his full attention. When the jet was low enough, Blaze pulled up on the joystick causing the nose to tilt upwards, and let the plane go lower and lower until he felt the ground come into contact with his wheels. He deployed the plane's parachute and applied the brakes until the plane came to a gentle stop.

**Crew Locker Room-1600 hrs.**

Jack was standing in front of a mirror in the crew locker room, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, the water was running and he had a razor in his hand and shaving cream on his face…which answered the question of what he was doing in the locker room while his 'friends' were all outside or in their rooms, enjoying their free time to the fullest. While he was in the process of washing the cream off his face (Jack Soul was not particularly good looking, but neither was he 'ugly', which gave him a bit of an average look), he heard the door open and close. Looking in the mirror he saw a soldier standing at attention, "Yeah, what is it?" asked Jack.

"Sir," answered the soldier, "The Commander wants to see you in his office."

"Okay," said Jack, "I'll be right there."

**Base Commander's Office-1615 hrs**

Base Commander Geoffrey Nelson was seated at his large desk. On this desk was an elaborately sculpted bronze statue of an eagle, the blue and white Osean flag and a pen, which looked as if it was awarded by the Air Force. The fifty year old man was peering down at a letter through his horn-rimmed spectacles when Second Lieutenant Jack Soul walked in. Jack was dressed in his Air Force uniform and was standing firm at attention and said aloud, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yeah, Lieutenant Soul," replied Commander Nelson, "Have you ever heard of Sand Island?"

"I cannot say that I have, sir," replied Soul.

"Well," continued the Commander, "It's a small island between Osea and Yuktobania, and is mostly inhabited by pilots in training. Your old mentor Captain Jack Bartlett is stationed there. I trust you remember Captain Bartlett?"

Jack Bartlett was indeed Soul's old mentor, and Soul looked up to Bartlett, not only as one the best fighter pilots he had ever seen, but also as a sort of father-figure, "Yes, sir, I do."

"You're probably wondering why I'm bringing up Sand Island?" asked the Commander, and before Soul could answer, continued, "Well, earlier today, several pilots were shot down while on a routine training op over the Island. The government wants me to send someone down as a replacement…so I'm sending you."

Soul took in this news with mixed emotions; going to Sand Island would give him a chance of escaping from the sad landscape of Hierlark, but Soul was not exactly the bravest when it came to making new friends, so he did not really know how he should take the news, "Sir, may I inquire as to why _I _am being sent?"

"Because, Lieutenant, Sand Island is one of Osea's main lines of defense _and _you are one of the best pilots I've ever seen, so for the sake of our great nation…you are joining the Wardog Squadron. Report to the helipad tomorrow at 0500 hrs. Dismissed."

Jack left the office and returned to his quarters. While sitting on the bed, Jack went over the conversation he had just had with the Base Commander: Sand Island, a nice change to the Hierlark Base; tropical climate and white sandy beaches…sounded almost too good to be true.


	2. Chapter 2

Sand Island, a small strip of land, in the middle of a vast ocean. Once the source of a conflict between the Federation of Osea and the Union of Yuktobanian Republics; a conflict over which of the two superpowers had proper claim of the island. Eventually, this conflict was taken to the United Nations, who voted in favor of Osea. Since then, a small Air Defense base has been established on the island, but the question of whether any of the pilots there had ever seen any combat was popular among most of the Osean citizens; for the government kept a severe seal on all operations related to the island. The only vehicles allowed anywhere near the island were the transport planes, the training jets and pilot transfer helicopters. It just so happened that on one particular morning, a helicopter was approaching the island, carrying a 'one-man cargo'.

Meanwhile; in the Squadron Crew Room of Sand Island, a forty-two year old man was briefing a group of trainee pilots, "I know you don't like this," he started, "but we're short on people. Starting tomorrow all you nuggets are going to be sittin' alert. If we launch stay glued to me up there. Nagase…" he barked.

"Sir?"

The reply came from a young woman, sitting in the front row of seats, quite close to the Captain; she had a beautiful face and brown hair and eyes that were full of the naivety that can be expected of young soldiers.

"You're flying Number 2 on my wing," continued the Captain, then, putting a slight smirk on his face, said, "Gotta keep my eye on you or who knows what you'll get yourself into."

If the Captain, found it funny, the same could be said for young Nagase. She thought of replying to this, but thought better.

A man seated behind Nagase, gave a small snigger at the words from the Captain. Nagase turned sharply round to look at another young 'nugget', a man with short cut brown hair and an air of self confidence.

"Lieutenant Davenport," barked Captain Bartlett, "Do you find something funny?"

"No, sir," replied the Alvin 'Chopper' Davenport, attempting to put on a straight face.

"Good," said Bartlett, with a smile, "Because you're flying Number 3."

"Yes, sir," said Chopper, now wishing he'd never opened that mouth of his which had frequently been the source of many scuffles in his life.

"You will all wait in the lounge until Wardog 4 arrives," said Bartlett, "Dismissed."

Many of the other nuggets expressed sighs of relief that they would not miss any free time, and began to leave the room at rapid speeds, all except the incomplete Wardog Squadron who lagged behind to have a few words with their Captain, "Sir,"  
said Nagase, "Who do you have in mind for Wardog 4?"

Bartlett just smiled at their inquisitiveness, but simply told them not to worry about it.

**Crew Lounge **

Chopper was pacing up and down the Lounge while Kei 'Edge' Nagase sat in a chair writing something in a small red book on her lap, she paused every now and then, biting lightly on one end of her pen, obviously deep in thought, before recommencing with her writing. Chopper, on the other hand, was doing the exact opposite: pacing up and down in front of Nagase and his hands were extremely fidgety, not because of fear or nervousness, but from sheer annoyance: annoyance at the delayed introduction of the pilot known simply as: Wardog 4.

"I can't take this any longer," Chopper said aloud, "I'm forced to give up my free time _and _I have to wait for some kid to arrive out of nowhere."

"You're not the only one upset about losing their free time," said Nagase, not looking up from her book.

"Yeah, but…" began Chopper, but he closed his mouth. He was about to say that Nagase was doing exactly what she did in her free time: writing in her little red book, which was true, Chopper had rarely seen her without that book and those times were only when they leaving on sortie and coming back.

"But what?" challenged Nagase, looking up from her book, probably guessing what Chopper was about to say.

"But…I have loads of perfectly good rock 'n' roll records that need to be listened to," said Chopper, hoping that he could end the conversation. If that did not end it, then the sound of a landing helicopter sure did. Nagase put down her book, and joined Chopper in looking out the window towards one of the base's many helipads, to see an H-92 Superhawk helicopter touch down. Running up to the helicopter was no other than Captain Bartlett and Captain Allen C. Hamilton. Hamilton was a man surrounded in mystery, but he treated the nuggets like siblings and made sure they were as comfortable as possible, so the pilots considered the mystery behind him a small price to pay. Climbing out of the helicopter was a young man, about Hamilton's height, who was carrying a small luggage bag. He shook hands with Hamilton and Bartlett and was quickly led away from the whirring helicopter blades which obviously made conversation virtually impossible. They exchanged a few words at the door to the main building, before Hamilton gave hand gestures to the man (probably giving him directions to a certain room) and when the man entered the main building, Hamilton and Bartlett walked in the direction of the hangers.

"Probably going to…" began Chopper, but he was interrupted by the sound of the Lounge door opening. Nagase and Chopper turned around to see a rather young man (he looked approximately 20 years of age) who was clad in Air Force uniform and was supporting a stubble, his tie was loose indicating that he was not accommodated with the heat of a tropical island and he was looking around the room nervously, "I…I'm looking for Lieutenants Nagase and Davenport," said the man.

"You've found 'em," said Chopper, "About time you got your ass down here, I'm Alvin Davenport, but everyone just calls me Chopper…no idea why, and this is…"

"Kei Nagase," interrupted Nagase, apparently eager to have a chance of speaking with the attractive young pilot, "But you can call me Edge. You are?"

"Oh," said the pilot after shaking both their hands, "Jack Soul, but everyone calls me Blaze."

"Blaze?" laughed Chopper, "What for?"

"Please don't ask," said Soul with a nervous look on his face.

"Don't tell," said Nagase with a chuckle.

"Anyway," continued Soul, "Captain Bartlett told me to introduce myself to both of you."

"Well, introductions are over," said Chopper, "See ya later, Kid."

After Chopper had left, Soul said, "Well I gotta get going."

"Catch you around," said Nagase.

Soul nodded, picked up his luggage bag and left the room.

Jack Soul entered his small room, feeling relieved…relieved and hot. He could not remember the last night he had felt this hot, the sun was practically whipping him with its rays, but luckily the main building was air conditioned. He put his bag on the couch and proceeded to remove his tie and his shirt, thus leaving his muscular chest exposed. He collapsed on the bed, grateful for the softness of the mattress and the coolness of the air conditioned room. He began to reflect over his two new comrades; Chopper treated him no differently than any one else had, but Nagase was something different, he did not know what was different, but there was definitely something. While pondering this, he felt his eyelids become gradually heavier, and eventually, he was sound asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Shorebirds

The small digital alarm clock on the bedside table of 2nd Lt. Soul read 4:59 a.m. On the bed beside the table, Jack Soul rolled back and forth, wrapped in some nightmare; a nightmare involving smoke, fire and an airplane cockpit.

In the dream, Soul was in the cockpit of an F-20A Tigershark; there was thick, black smoke everywhere, the smoke was so thick he could barely see the sky above his head. He was inhaling the deadly fumes, his lungs felt as if they were being crushed by some invisible hand, and he was coughing hard. He had to get out…he had to…if he could just…

The alarm clock on his bedside table turned from 4:59 to 5:00 and the clock let out a series of electronic rings which brought Soul out of his dream so fast, that he rolled off his bed and landed on the floor. He did not stay down for long; he was on his feet in an instant and reached for the still ringing alarm clock, fumbled with it for a while and soon succeeded in silencing it. It had been the same dream he'd been having almost every night since the…incident, last year. He looked around the small, dark room; it did not look any different than it was when he fell asleep. His luggage bag was lying empty on the floor near the foot of his bed. He had unpacked last night; his luggage had consisted of merely a few articles of clothing, his officer's uniform (which lay folded neatly in one of the drawers near his bed), a shaving kit and a laptop (which was on a desk).

He threw on a dark green t-shirt; some sweat pants and his boots and left his room. He wandered down the brightly lit corridors, rubbing hid tired eyes. When he looked up, he just avoided running into Chopper who coming down the hall from the opposite direction,

"Whoa," said Chopper, "Watch were you're going, Kid."

"Sorry," replied Soul, checking himself, "I guess I'm just kinda tired."

"Didn't get much sleep lat night?" asked Chopper.

Soul shook his head.

"Well, I slept like a baby," said Chopper, laughing, and clapped Soul on the back, "Don't worry, you'll probably sleep better tonight."

Soul replied, "Maybe," and smiled as Chopper clapped him on the shoulder again and walked off. It was partly due to Choppers alarmingly loud rock 'n' roll music that had led to Soul's late turn in, that and his nightmares, but Soul felt that the music (if that's what it could be called) was more to blame.

While he was pondering this, he heard a female voice call out to him, "Good morning, Soul."

It was Nagase, she had apparently just left her room, and she was wearing her usual white tank top and OD trousers. She looked just as well rested as Chopper, but maybe that was just because she was used to Chopper's incessantly loud music.

"Morning, Nagase," said Soul, "I was just looking for the mess hall."

"I'll show you the way," said Nagase in a friendly manner, "I was just going there myself."

Soul smiled, thanked her, and followed her down the corridor. While he was following behind her, he took the time to study the woman in front of him, she had an extremely attractive and feminine form and yet there was a hint of strength about her and Soul felt that a fight with her was not something any smart person should seek. She walked surprisingly fast, not too fast, but faster than Soul had expected. While walking he shook his head and took his eyes off her, in case she somehow noticed, and concentrated on simply following her. When they reached the mess hall, she held the door open for him, but he insisted that she go first, she thanked him and complied with his request. They grabbed some trays and moved into the alarmingly short breakfast line. After grabbing some food, which looked surprisingly delicious (courtesy of Captain Hamilton's ability to 'pull strings'), they both headed for an empty table. Soon after sitting down, they were surprised to hear a voice behind them, "Hey, Lieutenant Soul."

It was Captain Bartlett; he had come over from a table that was occupied by some other senior officers. He came up to Soul, asked him how he'd slept, and when Soul said that he had not slept well, Bartlett laughed and said, "I see you've met Lieutenant Nagase, keep your eyes on her, make sure she doesn't get outta control."

Soul smiled and looked at Nagase, who was shaking her head. Shortly after Bartlett had left, they were joined by Chopper, who took a seat next to Soul, who was sitting opposite Nagase.

Soon, Soul popped a question, "Where are you guys from?"

Chopper looked up from his plate and said, "I was born in November City, my old man was an army engineer and my mother was a nurse. I lived most of my childhood in November City, before I joined the Air Force. My folks are now retired and are living in Apito now."

"I was born in Apito," said Nagase, "My father died before I was born. My mother owned a small shop, which is how she supported us. She died two years ago, now the Air Force is all I have."

"How about you Soul, where are you from?" asked Chopper.

"November City, same as you," replied Soul, "My parents were both lawyers. They haven't moved from November City. I joined the Air Force shortly after graduating."

Chopper and Nagase nodded, taking this in, and they all soon resumed eating and began talking about different things.

**Hanger 2-several hours later**

"Now that everyone's here," said Captain Bartlett, as he gazed upon the Wardog Squadron: Nagase, Soul and Davenport, "We can draw straws for who gets the 'tin-can'."

They were all assembled inside Hanger 2, facing Captain Bartlett, who was standing in front of his plane. It was a sunny day, but clouds approaching from the east assured quick cloud cover. The three nuggets were dressed in their flight suits, each of them holding their own helmets, and standing at attention.

"Who gets the _what_?" Soul whispered towards Chopper.

"The 'tin-can', it's…"

"Lieutenant Soul," said Bartlett, holding out his hand, which held two straws in it (Nagase had already drawn hers), "I f you've finished your chat with Lieutenant Davenport."

"Sorry, sir," said Soul, drawing his straw.

When Chopper had drawn his straw and they compared, it was fond the Soul had the shortest, and after Chopper had given him a pat on the shoulder, they all headed towards the planes indicated to them by Captain Bartlett.

Soul climbed into the cockpit of his designated F-5E Tiger II, strapped himself into the pilot's seat, and began systems check before preparing to taxi out onto the runway.

Before starting the plane, Blaze muttered to himself, "Tin-can? What kind of rip off…"

While attempting to start the plane, he found that the engines refused to turn on, "Oh I see now."

After several unsuccessful attempts, the engine finally burst into life, "There…not that bad."

"Hey…id…your…okay?" came Choppers distorted voice over the radio.

"Okay, it's bad," said Blaze.

**Above Sand Island**

After the AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) 'Thunderhead' had issued the order to not fire upon the unidentified aircraft (which had been the cause of the Wardog Squadron's launch) Heartbreak One asked the nuggets if they understood their orders.

"Wardog 2, roger," replied Edge.

"Wardog 3, roger," replied Chopper.

Blaze could not hear a thing due to the less-than-average performance of his in-flight radio, so he decided that desperate times called for desperate measures and hurled a few punches at the radio…surprisingly he heard Heartbreak One's next remark loud and clear; "Wardog 4? Hello? Can you hear me, Kid? You'd better be marking our tail, son!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm right here," said Blaze, "Uh…I mean: Wardog 4, roger."

"Looks like you're confident at least," said Bartlett, "Don't get separated from me."

"Man," Chopper said to Blaze, "I'm glad you drew the short straw instead of me."

"_Am I glad you drew the short straw instead of me,_" Blaze mocked Chopper, under his breath (so as not to piss the Captain off).

Blaze did not need to worry about pissing off the Captain, Chopper had already mildly accomplished that with his last remark, as was evident, when Heartbreak One barked,

"Second Lieutenant Alvin H. Davenport, zip it! Do you need a nickname too?"

"I respectfully ask to be called 'Chopper', sir," said Chopper proudly, "I'm afraid I may not be able to respond to any other moniker."

"Chopper, huh?" said Heartbreak One, almost to himself, "That does fit you well. I've got a better name for you, but I'll keep it to myself."

Blaze smiled as Chopper said, "Aw, cut me some slack, man."

Edge turned her gaze towards Blaze; she hoped he would be okay in the 'tin-can'.

"Tally-ho," Heartbreak One said suddenly, "We've got company."

Blaze could not see anything at first, but decided to follow the squadron. Eventually, an unusual looking plane came into view; it looked like a relic from the Cold War (between Osea and Yuktobania). Blaze decided to circle the aircraft to get a better view of it. He still did not recognize it, but he decided to just let it be; identifying its make was not part of the mission.

"You're forbidden to fire until I give the command, understand?"

"No problemo, boss," Blaze replied.

"Good boy." They hit their afterburners and raced up behind the plane. "Alright where's 'Motor mouth' Chopper?"

"Wha…That's your name for me?" Chopper stuttered.

"You've got a knack for comic dialogue. You mind sending a surrender request for me?"

"Oh no, please," said Chopper, as if he'd been insulted "Age before beauty."

"I'm real shy around strangers you know," Bartlett said. Blaze smiled again,

"Geez…testing…testing. Attention unidentified aircraft, set your course for our beacon immediately." Chopper and Blaze began to circle the air craft, while Edge and Heartbreak One kept a close watch on the unidentified aircraft.

"Good," said Heartbreak One. He sounded impressed, but Blaze could not tell if the impressiveness was genuine or a way of mocking Chopper.

"Uh, we will direct you to the nearest airfield. Lower your gear if you understand."

"I don't think he understands," Blaze commented when he didn't see the gears come down.

"Attention," announced the AWACS, "We have more high speed bogeys inbound. Approaching unidentified aircraft vector 280, altitude 6,000. Hold your fire until further orders."

Blaze checked his radar, and sure enough; there were several aircraft which had appeared, apparently out of nowhere. He tried looking in the direction his radar was indicating, but (as was expected) could not see anything. So he fell into formation with the squadron and followed them to intercept the incoming bogeys.

"Crossing the pond to fly cover for their spy plane huh?" Bartlett said, apparently both to himself and his squadron, "Now there's a fighter pilot worth his wings. Enemy inbound bearing 280, head on! You're not to fire until say it's okay, got me?"

"If you say so, Captain," replied Blaze.

"Good boy," said Bartlett, as if he were talking to a dog that had just caught a Frisbee he'd thrown. All of a sudden, the bogeys suddenly came into view, and they were identifiable as MIG-21s. Just as they came into view, the alarm in Blaze's cockpit that alerted him when an enemy was tracking him went off. Before Blaze could respond, Heartbreak One dodged a missile that soon went soaring over Blaze's plane, "Whoa, shit," cursed Blaze.

"Heads up!" Chopper yelled out. "They're firing on us!"

"Well no shit," yelled Blaze, sarcastically

"Wardog Squadron," Thunderhead shouted, "Weapons safe. Hold your fire until further orders."

"You have got to be kidding me," Blaze said to himself.

"Oh come on!" Chopper whined to Thunderhead. "Those aren't blanks they're firing at us out there!"

"Shut your mouth and fire back!" Bartlett barked

"Gladly," said Blaze, and before anyone in the squadron knew it, Blaze flew over the Captain's F-4E Phantom II, and launched a missile at one MiG (causing it to explode in a cascade of flame and metal), and began firing his cannon upon another one.

"Captain Bartlett, this is Thunderhead. You are violating direct orders."

"Shove it!" Bartlett nearly screamed, "I'm not going to watch anymore of my pilots die! We're going to shoot them all down, Kid."

"Let's rock and roll," said Blaze.

"I hear ya, Kid," shouted as he began firing upon a MiG.

"Wardog weapons safe!" shouted Thunderhead.

"Whatever," said Blaze as he downed the second plane he had gone after with his cannons.

"This is Chopper, I got a bandit on my tail, I could use a little help."

Chopper dived downwards in an attempt to evade the MiG, but that move proved to be futile, as the more advanced MiG followed him. The MiG fired a sidewinder missile at Chopper, who pulled off a move learned in Air Force training and successfully dodged it, "I _really_ need some help."

"I got him, Chopper," said Blaze as he came up behind Chopper's MiG; he switched on the targeting system. The green crosshair slowly moved towards the MiG. Once upon it, the crosshair turned red and an alarm went off, both in Blaze's cockpit and the enemy plane's. Blaze quickly squeezed the trigger on the Tiger's joystick. The pilot of the MiG was neither quick nor able enough to dodge a shot from this range and his plane exploded thereby terminating his life.

"Thanks, Kid," said Chopper as Blaze flew passed his plane.

"No problem," said Blaze. All of a sudden the tracking alarm went off in Blaze's cockpit, "What the…" he muttered as he attempted to get a look at his tracker.

"Wardog 4," shouted Heartbreak One as he flew above Blaze, "You got a bogey on your six. Evade him."

"No problem," said Blaze, and he pulled up on his joystick.

The Wardog Squadron could not explain it; later on they would say that they were not even sure it really happened: one minute, a MiG was hot on the tail of Blaze's Tiger II, but before they knew it, Blaze had flown over the MiG, and was now in pursuit of the bogey. The MiG pilot was obviously surprised and he tried desperately to evade, but, eventually, Blaze opened fire on it and the MiG went tumbling into the deep blue ocean.

"One last bogey," said Heartbreak One, either he had quickly gotten over Blaze's maneuver or he had simply not noticed.

"I got him," said Chopper as he went in for the kill. Chopper flew passed Edge, who had managed to down one bogey, and began to close in on the bogey. He switched on the targeting system, and maneuvered to get a good position. Finally, he had a lock-on…suddenly the MiG vanished in an explosion of flame, "What the hell?" shouted Chopper, "I didn't…"

Suddenly, he saw Blaze fly overhead, "Aww, Kid, that was my kill."

"Sorry, Chopper," said Blaze, "I couldn't help myself.

"All unknown bogey aircraft destroyed," Thunderhead reported as the Wardog Squadron slowly calmed down, "All aircraft return to base."

"This is your Captain, can you hear my voice?"

"Yup," said Blaze, as he, Chopper and Edge fell into formation behind Heartbreak One.

"Good, looks like we can all hear each other. You all alive? Alright, good work nuggets. Wardog 4, you still following us? Well, to commemorate the fact that we all made it out of that battle alive, I'm gonna let you keep your nickname. From now on, I'm gonna call you 'Kid'. Got it?"

"Well…I…" began Blaze.

"Good," said Heartbreak One, not giving Blaze a chance to finish.

No-one knew what the whole incident of that day was about…but the Wardog Squadron knew one thing: Blaze was no average air force pilot; he was something special, he worked that plane as easily and fluidly as any average human works their arms…it was as if every plane he stepped into became a part of him…body and soul.


	4. Chapter 4

REPLY TO REVIEWS

_Dragoon Swordsman_: thanks for both reviews. I thought the same thing during the Shorebirds mission; the AWACS is supposed to be on our side.

_Dark Flame Lord_: Seriously? I wasn't aware you could do that in the game.

_Infinite Freedom_: I plan on it, but I'm not very good at pairings. I'll try my best though.

Chapter 4: Fire and Smoke

A roar filled the air around Sand Island; it began as a low rumbling, but then intensified in volume. If you had been around aircraft as long as the staff on Sand Island, you would have known that the roar heralded the arrival of a fighter jet squadron; the Wardog Squadron. An F-4E Phantom II, followed by three F-5E Tiger IIs, began to make the steady decent necessary for landing. Soon enough, the pilots felt the familiar jolt, brought about by the firm rubber tires coming into contact with the hard concrete of the Sand Island runway. The four planes began the slow taxi to their respective spots. Heartbreak One came to a halt at the head of the formation, followed by Edge, then Chopper, and eventually, the latest Ace of the Osean Air Defense Force: Blaze.

Each pilot hauled their sweaty bodies back to the main building to swap their sticky flight suits, for some more loose fitting and comfortable clothes (after a good shower, of course). Jack Soul, Alvin Davenport and Jack Bartlett all retired to the men's locker room, whereas Kei Nagase retired to the women's locker room. Captain Bartlett was in and out of the locker room in a flash, leaving Chopper and Soul to finish changing. While Chopper was in the shower room, Jack Soul was bent over one of the sinks; head down, shoulders and chest heaving: the smoke and fire was coming back, just like in his dream. This did not scare him; he just hated having the memory hardwired into his brain.

"Did you hear me, Kid?" asked Chopper; he had a towel around his waist and was toweling his hair with another towel.

"What?" asked Blaze, slightly surprised at Chopper's sudden appearance into the room.

"I said," continued Chopper, "Why didn't you leave that MiG to me? I called dibs on it."

"You snooze, you loose, Chopper," replied Blaze, looking at his own reflection in the mirror and smiling.

Chopper smiled as well, "Yeah, I guess," he said.

Chopper and Soul decided to go down to the Crew Lounge for a little rest and relaxation after the air combat they'd just been through. Upon arriving in the Lounge, they found Nagase, dressed in her usual white tank-top and OD trousers, sitting on one of the many couches; she was writing something in her little red book and looked in a deep state of concentration. Suddenly she spotted both of them and waved them over; it being late in the afternoon, the setting sun was shining right through the window behind her, and Soul thought that the orange sunlight gave her a bit of an angelic look; and her figure gave the sunlight an angelic radiance. Soul shook his head in an (unsuccessful) attempt to banish these thoughts from his mind. When they reached the couch, she said:

"You guys flew greatly today; I just wanted to say congratulations."

"You flew great, too, Nagase," said Chopper, "But not as well as Junior here…no offence."

"None, taken," said Nagase with a slight laugh, she then turned slowly to look Soul in the face, "You were amazing up there."

"I wasn't _that_ good," said Soul humbly.

"Yeah, you were," said Chopper as he drew up two chairs for him and Soul, "How many pilots can say they downed five planes on their first sortie?"

"There've been a few," said Soul, sitting down.

"Oh yeah?" scoffed Chopper, "Name one."

"Well," said Soul, "There was that pilot in the Belkan War, fifteen years ago."

"What pilot?" asked Chopper and Nagase together.

"You know…that pilot…what was it they called him? Demon Lord I think."

"Oh," said Chopper, "I heard that story, and I've got news for ya, Kid…it's a battlefield myth."

Soul shrugged and was about to answer when a voice from behind him said, "Lieutenant Soul."

They all looked up to see Captain Allen Hamilton approach them. He was wearing his usual officer's uniform. He was always very warm towards the nuggets, which was more than could be said for his superior: Base Commander Orson Perault. Despite being an Air Force Captain, none of the nuggets could ever recall seeing him in an aircraft before. He was considered by most to be one of the most reasonable men in the Air Force.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Soul," he said.

"For what, sir?" asked Soul, standing up.

"Don't call me that," said Captain Hamilton.

"Don't call you what, sir?" asked Soul.

"Sir," said Hamilton, "It makes me feel older than I am comfortable with."

"Sorry, sir," said Soul, then realizing his mistake said, "I mean Captain Hamilton."

"That's a little better," said Hamilton with a smile, "I just wanted to say congratulations on becoming the Air Force's latest Ace, I hope to see more nuggets like you in the near future."

"Thank you, s…Captain Hamilton," said Soul.

"But don't let it go to your head," warned Hamilton.

As Hamilton was about to say something else, a young man of around thirty years of age, and holding a camera, came into the room. Once he spotted Hamilton he called out and approached the Captain. They went aside and soon became involved in a conversation.

"Who's that?" Soul asked Chopper and Nagase, indicating the stranger.

"Don't know his name," said Chopper, "But from what I can dig up, he's some reporter sent here to do a report on the _legendary_ Sand Island."

"His name is Albert Genette," said Nagase, all of a sudden, "He went up in Captain Bartlett's plane on _that_ day."

There was no mystery as to what Nagase meant by '_that_ day'. Soul knew that she was referring to the day whose fateful events brought about the death of eight pilots, and led to Soul's transfer from the cold mountains of Hierlark Air Force Base to the tropical Sand Island.

Hamilton and Genette finished their conversation; Hamilton gave a shrug and said: "There's nothing I can do." Genette left the room and Hamilton turned towards the Wardog nuggets, "It seems that Mr. Genette is not being allowed to leave the island."

"Why not?" asked Nagase.

"Your encounter with the unidentified aircraft has been deemed top secret, and the government does not want to risk a leak that may cause panic…the last thing they want is for the people to think that we are close to a war."

With that, he said, "Congratulations again…Blaze, Edge, Chopper," and he left the room.

"What's up with that?" Chopper asked Blaze.

"What's up with what?" asked Blaze.

"Your callsign…Blaze, how'd you get that?"

Soul looked at Chopper without saying anything for a while, then, he heaved a huge sigh, and looked out the window behind Nagase…he looked as if he were in some faraway land. Jack Soul did not say anything for a while, and Chopper and Nagase decided it would be better to let Soul take his time. After a while, their patience was rewarded when Soul said, "It's not exactly a story of a great air battle or a story of some life-altering event…it's actually kinda embarrassing."

"You can tell us," said Nagase; she was extremely eager to hear about how the young pilot, who appeared out of the snow of Hierlark, landed on Sand Island and shot down five bogeys on his first sortie. She hid her excitement very well, and Soul and Chopper remained oblivious to it.

"Well…it happened on my very first sortie from Hierlark base.

**Flashback-Hierlark Base: 0400 hrs**

The freezing air whistled around the darkness of Hierlark Base. The lights of the control tower were the brightest thing to be seen in the vast wilderness. Hierlark was known for its foreboding atmosphere, but also for its undeniable uniqueness as a training base due to the vast radius made available to the Hierlark personnel. There were also the lights from the main building and the long runway's landing lights also helped with the visibility. On this particular morning, an F-20A Tigershark was on the runway. The position of the flaps on the wings and tail indicated that the plane was preparing for takeoff. Indeed, in the cockpit, which was lit up by special lights, 1st Lieutenant Jack Soul was just finishing a systems check.

"Nighthawk 1," came the control tower's voice over the radio, "You are cleared for takeoff."

"Roger, control tower," said Jack Soul into the breathing mask.

Soul turned on the thrusters, the hum of the thrusters was loud and clear from inside the cockpit. As Soul was slowly accelerating he felt a strange jolt, the control tower suddenly shouted, "Nighthawk 1, abandon takeoff procedures, the rear of your aircraft is on fire. Repeat: abandon takeoff…"

Soul did not hear the rest, as he applied the brakes; he felt a terrifying and painful jolt as the whole plane exploded. Luckily for Soul; in the explosion the whole cockpit was blown a good fifty yards away from what was left of the Tigershark. Soul almost lost consciousness; the cockpit was still on fire, and that fire was spreading fast, eating away at the paint and plastic components of the aircraft cockpit. The interior was filling with thick, black smoke. Soul's eyes were spewing tears due to the smoke and he was also coughing hard as his lungs were being polluted by the toxic fumes. He could not see…could not think…could not breathe. He had to get out…but how? Suddenly, his thoughts went back to his training: the components of the aircraft, how to takeoff and land, then a particular lesson hit him: his hands went down and he searched the bottom of the seat until his hand touched the hot metal of the…eject handle. Despite the intense heat of the handle, he gave a hard yank and before he knew it, he saw the wreck several meters below him; he was rushing upwards, the cool air rushed past his ears so fast that it hurt. He deployed his parachute…and blacked out.

**End flashback**

"I woke up a week later in the hospital ward," finished Soul, "And before I knew it, the name Blaze began going around and it stuck."

"Whoa," said Chopper, "Not exactly my idea of a memorable first sortie."

"I can't imagine what it must have been like in that cockpit," said Nagase, amazed that Soul had survived that situation. She did not understand how Soul could get back into an aircraft after an ordeal like that. Suddenly, Nagase had a newfound respect for Soul, a respect for both his extreme bravery…and undeniable luck.

"I'm surprise I remember it," said Soul.

From that moment on, Blaze, Edge and Chopper became the closest of friends...and they hoped it would remain that way until the end of their days.


End file.
